Who Benefits Most From The Michael Crabtree Injury?
The Trashman, Rosterwatch.com

The 49ers would have us believe otherwise, but WR Michael Crabtree’s achilles tear has rendered him inactive for at least twelve weeks of the NFL season and probably longer.

As most now know, the injury occurred during OTAs, one more reason to encourage holdouts to stay gone. (You listening Hakeem Nicks?! Stay home this time!)

The star flanker has already undergone surgery to repair the tear. What no one is exactly sure of is how the loss of Crabtree will affect the team. From a fantasy perspective, this is an extremely pertinent issue as the early bird gets the worm in fantasy land. Whoever can divine the benefiting player, or players, in the aftermath gets a leg up on the competition. And the earlier you can suss out who that is, the higher that leg can be.

The most immediate beneficiary of the Crabtree loss is 2013’s offseason acquisition, Anquan Boldin. Currently, he is the top target to all four 49ers quarterbacks in OTAs, ahead of Vernon Davis. But Boldin is the starting “Z” receiver, and Crabtree plays the “X”, so someone has to step into that spot. Right now the lead candidate appears to be second-year player, A.J. Jenkins. Jenkins was a first-round pick out of Illinois last season, but he was inactive for 14 of 19 games and failed to register a catch in the other five.

A.J. Jenkins was thought of by many (Rosterwatch included) as a huge reach by the 49ers staff, and sure enough, he showed up to rookie mini-camp out of shape and quickly got in Harbaugh’s dog house to start his career.

Also vying for the position are rookie Quinton Patton and Rocardo Lockette. Patton is not an overly athletic specimen, with average speed and unimposing size—but he produced results in college and is known for his impetuous drive. Louisana Tech coach, Sonny Dykes, often had to force Patton to stop practicing because he was pushing himself too hard, and the rookie was so eager to visit 49ers camp after he’d been drafted, that he paid his own way to camp, unaware that draft picks aren’t allowed to visit headquarters more than 24 hours after the draft. The move endeared him to coach Harbaugh, though—The opposite of the first impression that A.J. Jenkins made.

Lockette has been in the league for a couple of years, beginning his career in Seattle where he started off a hot commodity on account of his blazing speed, but ended up not being much more than a paper tiger. Harbaugh has been pumping him up in the press, but the truth is that Lockette has had only two career catches, and struggled to keep his roster spot on a Seahawks team that had a dearth at the receiver position. I have the most trouble believing he’ll win the position battle.

If Patton can improve his route running, which I think he will, he could be the surprise of the franchise. Jenkins has had a year to impress his team, to little avail, and Lockette appears to be a journeyman speedster with minimal football acumen. Currently, my money is on the rookie. In an age where hard working receivers are equally hard to come by, Patton is a rare creature and his dedication will be the key to his success. In the event that none of these players can cut it, the 49ers may be forced to make another acquisition, in which case all bets are off.